Aki no Hi ni - A Kiba Inuzuka Story
by xpaperlovex
Summary: "Watashi?" The girl grinned. "Watashiwa Mitarashi Akira desu." Aki meant autumn, and Kiba caught himself thinking how much the name fitted this frivolous, spirited girl with wild auburn hair. {KibaxOC} Title Translation: On Autumn Days
1. Chapter 1

**『秋の日に』**

**第一章：****冷たい夕方**

_Chilly Evenings_

Nine seconds.

That was all the time it took for Kiba's knock on the door to be answered. It was the _Hanabi Matsuri_ (Fireworks Festival) and the Inuzuka boy had gone to his best friend's apartment to fetch her to the festival, as per tradition. As per tradition, man and dog waited as the scent of maple and apples (_the latter was new,_ Kiba noticed, most probably in the shampoo she just used) approached the door, followed by the sound of the lock being fumbled with and as per tradition, the Inuzuka held up his hand in greeting, a _"Yo" _ready to roll off the tip of his tongue. But the word stuck in his throat and his hand froze in mid-air, when the door creaked apart.

Because _contrary_ to tradition, the girl that had opened the door had taken his breath away completely.

"A-Akira," he breathed out instead, as his wolf-like eyes surveyed the girl in front of him from top to bottom. She was clothed in a purple, sakura-printed, yukata, complete with a silver sash around her waist that made the dark velvet hug her curves _(how had he not noticed them before?). _Her wild, auburn hair was done up in an elegant hairdo that left part of her hair clipped up and the rest left to frame her sharp face. Kiba felt heat creep up into his cheeks and his heartbeat elevated just a bit. At that moment, he saw his best friend in a whole new different light. Of course, both knew that the Mitarashi girl was, undeniably, more attractive than the average-looking female, something that was quite apparent without her even trying (and she didn't), but heck, Kiba hadn't really given much thought about it...until now. They were best friends, after all, and best friends don't think about each other in, and here Kiba's blush deepened, _that _way. But here she was, standing in front of him and he felt something towards her that he had never felt before.

He hadn't realized his best friend was _dead_ gorgeous.

"Doushitano?" Akira teased with a slight smirk. Suddenly, Kiba was attracted to those pink lips, those lips that were curled slightly and quirked at the sides. "Dog got your tongue?"

"I-I," Kiba made an attempt to speak but his throat seemed to have clamped down on itself. He swallowed, then blurted out bluntly. "You look like a girl." _God, he sounded stupid._

"That's because I _am_ a girl, mutt head," Akira replied amusedly, giving the Inuzuka boy a playful shove. Kiba caught himself wishing ridiculously for those hands to linger on his chest just a tiny longer. He himself donned a charcoal-black yukata, decorated with scarlet claw marks at bottom sides, but even with the thin fabric, Akira's touch seemed to burn his skin upon contact.

"Matte," the girl commanded the boy to wait, as she retreated back into her apartment. "I've got something for Akamaru!" In a few moments she came out holding a hair tie and a comb (_which smelt of apples too,_ Kiba noticed). She bent down to rake the comb through Akamaru's fur on the top of his head and bunched it up into a ponytail that stood on end.

"There, now you look dressed for the matsuri as well," Akira chuckled as she straightened up to admire her work, while Akamaru panted with excitement. "Eh, doushite?"

For she found Kiba with his face turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose. His cheeks were stained with red, but it was hard to tell with his tanned skin and all. As Akira bent down, her yukata had slipped down just a bit and Kiba had caught a glimpse of, Kiba pinched his nose harder, her breasts, pale and pure. He had immediately turned away, ashamed, but that didn't stop the image from being imprinted in his mind. Thank god his nose hasn't bled, _yet. _He didn't much appreciate the prospect of spending the whole _matsuri_ with the scent of blood in his nose.

"Daijoubu, Kiba? Are you alright?" Akira asked, a hint of worry beginning to show in her voice as she leaned in closer to get a look. That only panicked Kiba even more as he quickly backed away, much to the bewilderment of his friend, and gasped out with a nervous laugh, "D-Daijoubu yo. I-Ikuse! Let's go."

Akira's jaded eyes _(since when was there flickers of gold in her eyes, or was that just the trick of the light?)_ narrowed by a fraction, examining the friend who was acting weirdly today. But finally, she let it passed as she followed with a wry shrug, her geta clopping in pace.

"Doko kara, sono yukata? Where did you get that yukata from?" Kiba asked after a moment of silence in which he had tried his best to keep his eyes on the streets and not let them roam, especially onto his female companion.

"Kore?" Akira motioned to her clothing, slightly surprised by the random question. "Korewa haha no desu. It was my mother's." Kiba could have sworn her voice carried a hint of sorrow - he knew Akira's deceased mother was a sensitive topic to her. _"Nee-chan_ didn't appreciate a hand-me down but I don't mind."

"You, I mean, it looks gorgeous," Kiba commented, feeling the tip of his ears go pink at the slight slip-up. Akira beamed.

"I know, right? It feels weird wearing it though. I feel really naked."

She chuckled, oblivious to how her last statement had affected her male companion by making him splutter, his mind jumping to an image of her...stark naked. _Baka, you're not supposed to think of her in that perverted way!_ he thought furiously as he felt a strange heat from below. Akamaru, smelling his master's arousal, cocked his head at him.

"I have a shuriken holster strapped to my thigh, though. So if anyone attempts to rape me," Akira continued, tone dropped an octave lower. Kiba gulped. "_Aitsu wo kurosu. I'll kill him_."

Yep, definitely not someone to mess with. Especially not in any perverted way.

Kiba smiled with a hint of sadness to himself as his thoughts drifted back to the day when he first came to know the girl beside him.

_Back in the Academy days, the boys' lunch breaks were mostly taken up by soccer. After wolfing down their bentous, they would grab a ball (usually Kiba's) and proceed to indulge in the ball game in the dusty field that Konoha Gakuen offered. Sometimes, the girls' would stand by and watch but most of the time, it was just the boys, engrossed in their game, until the bell rang signaling the end of break._

_One day, Kiba and the other boys arrived to find that someone had beat them to the field._

_It was a girl. A girl with messy red-brown hair and bright green eyes, standing in the middle of the field, repeatedly kicking a ball into the air, letting it fall and then kicking it up again. Kiba vaguely recalled seeing her before in her class but her name eluded him._

_The boys stood, confused, not knowing what to do with the unfamiliar intruder. After a while, Kiba, the self-proclaimed "leader" of the group, stepped forward, catching the attention of the girl who promptly stopped, one foot on the ball and watched him cautiously. _

"_This is our field," Kiba announced loudly, as if daring the girl to rebut him._

"_Really?" those emerald eyes twinkled as a small smirk tugged at the girl's lips. "I don't see your names on it." _

_Kiba was, to say the least, stunned by the girl's bold reply. He had never actually been spoken back to before, especially not by a girl. But this only served to infuriate him even more as he barked out, "I don't see yours too!"_

"_I was here first." The girl's calmness annoyed him to no ends._

"_We have been using this field since forever, so it's ours." the Inuzuka boy retorted, earning a grunt of agreement from his blonde Uzumaki friend. "Also, how can one person like you play anything?" The smirk on the girl's face stretched into a grin._

"_Then join me."_

"_Baka! Why would we play with a girl like you!" _

"_Because..." the auburn-haired eight-year-old crossed her arms to ponder the question. "It's a challenge. If I win the game, you'll let me play with you guys whenever I want. If I lose, I will never bother you again."_

_Kiba's tiny eyebrows furrowed into a frown. Either way, they would have to play with the girl, but at least it gave them a chance, _no,_ Kiba corrected, it_ guaranteed_ that the girl wouldn't pester them again. Besides, Inuzukas are never one to back down from a challenge. _

"_Ii yo," he relented. "But don't expect us to go easy on you just because you're a girl."_

_The girl smiled, a genuine one this time. Kiba caught himself liking the smile and it took him some effort to restrain himself from smiling back. "I won't. Don't expect _me_ to go easy on you guys just because y'all are boys."_

_Kiba scoffed. _As if she could even_ think_ about going easy on them!

_The other boys moved onto the field, with no complaints except for Shikamaru's _"Mendokusai na."._ They split the teams: Kiba with Naruto and the girl with Shikamaru and Chouji. Kiba was secretly pleased – he figured the odds were better with a hyperactive ninja than a fat ass and lazy bum any day. (Though just having him on the team would be enough, he inwardly grinned.)_

"_Let's do this, Kiba!" True to his title, the blonde wasted no time in pumping himself up for the game, while the Akimichi finished the last of his chips before crumpling the bag and tossing it away, and the Nara yawned. Kiba smirked. _This was going to be so easy.

"_Rules are simple – one point if you kick it into your team's goal. The game ends when the bell rings and the team with the highest score wins. No ninjutsu or genjutsu allowed." he stated. "We'll take that goal over there and the other is all yours – that's if, you can get it."_

_The girl seemed contented with the rules. Except, "Matte, one minute to strategise, please," she requested. Kiba narrowed his sharp eyes. They never strategised. Strategising was a _girl's_ thing. "Fine," he conceded. "But be quick."_

_And as the three teammates huddled together a distance away, Naruto asked, "Should we discuss strategies, too?"_

"_No need. You just stay back to defend while I win our goals for us."_

_The Uzumaki frowned. "I want to attack, too."_

"_Not today, man. Akamaru and I will be enough. Ne, Akamaru?" the dog barked in agreement while the blonde continued to glower. "Oi! Owarimashitaka? Done yet?" _

"_Owatta," the girl replied, returning with her teammates. The two teams settled into position. _

"_Ready...hajime!" _

_Kiba gained possession of the ball easily. As he started dribbling the ball towards the goal, he came face-to-face with the girl. She was a foot shorter than him but the glint of determination in her eyes gave her a rather intimidating aura. _Kuso!_ That one moment of hesitation had been all it took for the girl to snatch the ball away from under his nose...only to be stolen again by the Inuzuka's teammate seconds later._

"_Yosh, Naruto!" Kiba cheered as he backed his blonde teammate up, with the girl shadowing after him. He dribbled the ball for a moments, with the goal looming ahead, Chouji situated in front of it (probably chosen to stand there due to his physique), when Shikamaru slid in from the slide and abruptly changed the direction of the ball. Too late, Kiba realised that the girl was no longer around him as he watched her receive the ball with ease and sprinted towards their goal, which was left wide open._

"_Akamaru!" He yelled, and had the pleasure of seeing the girl's eyes widen with surprise as a ball of white furriness pounce onto the ball and snatch it away. "Good boy," he murmured as the ball was passed to him, and he dribbled it, away from the girl, pass Shikamaru, and then, a flying kick right into the goal. _

_The girl scowled as she jogged up to the two boys high-fiving each other. "No pets allowed."_

"_Akamaru isn't just a _pet_," he retorted, as he was accustomed to whenever someone would say that. "Besides, it's three against three so it's even."_

_From the look of the face, the girl wasn't happy but she didn't continue to argue. "Whatever, it's our ball."_

_The game progressed. Kiba had to admit, this strange girl was not bad. She could match up to his speed easily, was agile and kicked well. Not to mention the tricks that she had up her sleeve – Kiba was caught off guard when, before she passed the ball, had called out "Nara!", to which Kiba thought meant she was passing to Shikamaru and jumped in front of the boy, only to have the ball passed straight to Chouji, who delivered a powerful kick that had the ball flying straight into the, once again, open goal_. ("I told you to defend the goal, Naruto!") _It didn't take the two long enough to figure out that when the other team called each other by their surnames, they were aiming the ball for the other person. But it took long enough. Nearing the end of the game, with only a few seconds to spare, the score was 5-4 and Kiba was getting desperate._

"_Haire! Go in!" he practically ordered the ball as, in his haste, he delivered a strong kick towards his goal. Too strong, in fact, for the ball ended up soaring in an arc above Chouji's head, above the goal, and straight into a second-level classroom, smashing the glass windows in the process. The four boys, dog and one girl came to a stop and gaped at the broken window, and as Kiba sensed an awfully threatening aura stomping out of the building, he yelled, "Hashire!" and they ran, towards the other side of the building where they could hide amongst the thong of people heading back to class._

_And it was while running, when Chouji, pumping hard on his pudgy legs, took a great stumble, and fell flat on his face in the dirt ground. _That clumsy idiot!_ Kiba cursed under his breath, as he reached the corner of the building first and turned the corner, to hide in its silhouette. Naruto and Shikamaru soon came after, and...where was the girl? Kiba looked back and wolf-like eyes widened as he caught sight of the girl returning to the Akimichi boy and helping him up. _

_Shikamaru, at that moment, decided to do something very brave. He yelled, "What are you doing, Fatso!" _

_The effect was immediate. Chouji's face contorted into a mask of fury and when Naruto echoed another "_Fatso!",_ he wasted no time in dashing towards their direction, leaving a very confused girl behind. "Who are you calling a fatso!?" Shikamaru and Naruto had to run for his life afterwards but Kiba chose to stay, and watched the scene play out when Iruka-sensei caught the girl by the wrist._

"_Was it you who kicked the ball into the classroom?" he growled at the student. "What if someone got hurt? Do you know how dangerous that was!"_

"_It was..." and here Kiba caught the girl shooting a quick look towards their side of the building_. Shimatta, she was going to pin the blame on him!

"_It was me." _

_Her quiet response astounded Kiba. And after Iruka gave her an earful, ending with a "You're lucky that there wasn't anyone inside the room at that time. I'll let you off this time, but I expect you to pay for the window!", he approached her. _

_The girl turned to face him as she heard his footfalls, stating flatly, "We're late for class." But when she headed for the building entrance, Kiba didn't follow. Only when she turned around a second time to fix him with an annoyed stare did he say, "You didn't tell on me."_

_The girl gave a nonchalant shrug. "What is there to tell?" _

_But there _was. _If Kiba had switched roles with the girl, he wouldn't have counted on himself to_ not_ sell her out, if it meant taking the blame. Heck, he couldn't even return to help his friend. "Why?" the Inuzuka wanted to know._

_Instead, he asked, rather rudely, "Omaewa dare? Who are you?"_

"_Watashi?" The girl grinned. "Watashiwa Mitarashi Akira desu." Aki meant autumn, and Kiba caught himself thinking how much the name fitted this frivolous, spirited girl with wild auburn hair._

"_Inuzuka Kiba," he promptly introduced himself. "And this is Akamaru." He scratched the fur of the white puppy sitting on his head, earning a happy bark from him. "How would you like to join our soccer game tomorrow?"_

_Since then, their acquaintance had bloomed into a full-blown friendship. Akira spent every break after that day playing with the boys. Whatever she lacked in terms of physique, she made it up with her speed and agility, not to mention her snarky remarks. She looked, spoke, behaved very much like a boy and that sat well with the boys, for they'd never dared to treat a girl the way they treated Akira. She grew especially close to Kiba, partly because they both shared a soft spot for animals, partly because they were the fastest runners in the group that made them almost always on opposite teams to level the playing field and partly because they often bickered with each other, mainly about which team to start the game. They played together, ate together, studied (or pretended to) together, skipped classes together. Even after being assigned different teams, they were often spotted together, strolling, or in some instances, racing, down the streets of Konoha with a dog wedged in between them._

_Kiba had thought the friendship between them would remain that way forever._

Boy, was he wrong.

They reached the festival grounds then. Stalls after stalls lined the streets, each selling their own unique products, be it food, clothes, et cetera. The streets were packed with people roaming from one stall to another, generating a lively buzz. Voices of stall-owners calling out prices, injected with occasional hoots of laughter - the _matsuri _was well under way all right.

"Oi! Kiba!" A voice called out. Kiba turned to see a particular blonde making their way over to them, hand raised in greeting. "And who's that hot chick with you?" Naruto's blue orbs widened for a moment as he recognized the girl. "A-Akira-chan?" Kiba observed the blonde's nose tinge with red. Somehow, the sight angered him.

Akira mock curtsied. "I'm going to have to pummel you to the ground if you call me that another time, Naurto." She said with a deceptively calm smile. Naurto immediately backed away, raising his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, whoa, easy there Aki-chan."

"Yare, yare," another voice commented. "If it isn't Akira finally looking like a girl." The trio turned to see their other two friends, Shikamaru and Chouji aproaching them. Shikamaru, the one who had spoken, had both hands in his pockets while Chouji had a stick of takoyaki in each of his.

"Yo, Shikamaru, Chouji," Akira greeted, smiling. "Hisashiburi ne." And as they neared, she stretched out a hand and snatched a stick of takoyaki from Chouji's pudgy fingers.

"Akira-chan-" the Akimichi boy whined, looking downright depressed. Akira stuck out her tongue at him.

"You had two! Plus, you shouldn't be eating so much, Chouji, or you'll become f-" Chouji's eyebrows twitched as Shikamaru quickly clamped a hand over the girl's mouth. _He was touching her! _Kiba realized with a jolt of, was that jealousy? His wolf-like eyes narrowed dangerously.

"_Onna, _do you want to die?" he heard Shikamaru hiss angrily into her ears. "Don't ever call Chouji 'fat'!"

"Did you say something?" Chouji's beady eyes were trained on Akira's.

"Ah-, betsuni, betsuni," Akira hastily waved it off, and when Chouji finally resumed eating, she let out a tiny sigh. "It's been too long, I almost forgot." She sank her teeth into one of her takoyaki.

"Umai!" She groaned, upon taking a bite. "Chouji, where did you get this from?"

"Eh?" Chouji scratched the side of his head, before pointing at a certain stall in the distance. Kiba could catch the strong scent of takoyaki wafting from that direction. "Asoko."

"Ja, ikusou!" Akira exclaimed cheerfully. "I want more takoyaki!"

"Boku mo!" Naruto chirped in. The two took off for the stall but before Akira could leave, she was grabbed by the wrist.

"You have some sauce here," Kiba said as he reached out a thumb to gently wipe the takoyaki stain from Akira's chin. The girl stood still with eyes wide, stunned, as the boy's thumb brushed against her cheek. When he was done, Kiba looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at the both of them. He didn't like the knowing smirk on Shikamaru's face at all.

"Nande?" He demanded, a low growl, staring each of them down.

"K-Kiba-kun..."

Kiba swirled around to see Hinata standing nearby, accompanied by Shino. _Kuso, did they see that too? _Kiba caught sight of the faint blush on his teammate's cheek before noticing Hinata's lavender-tinted eyes gaze downwards and too late, he quickly let go of Akira's hand which he only just realized he was still holding. His neck pinked. This was not going well.

"D-Didn't we say we were going to get takoyaki?" He nervously tried to change the topic, and was the first to start for the takoyaki booth this time. "Jeez, I'm hungry! Ne, Akamaru?" The dog barked, oblivious to his owner's discomfort.

Shikamaru sighed, uttering his favorite phrase under his breath. "Mendokusai na..."

It_ was_ troublesome, Kiba found himself thinking as he brisk-walked towards the takoyaki stand, wondering, not for the first time that evening, why he was _so freaking warm_ despite the bitter October air.

* * *

**Finally touching my account for a very (very) long time. *blows dust away* There, this story started off as a random idea that I recorded down with my phone, and developed into a multi-chaptered story from there, somehow. (Will be quite a short one though.)**

**Feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**『秋の日に』**

**第二章：****長閑な夕暮れ**

_Tranquil Dusks_

They were at their favorite hang-out spot - the gentle stretch of grass slope along the river banks. The Inuzuka boy was lying down, hands crossed behind his head, one knee propped up against the other. The Mitarashi girl was seated with her arms hugging her bent legs, chin resting on her knees, staring into the crimson horizon of the evening sky. She was in her normal attire, no longer dressed up in her yukata but beauty still seemed to radiate off her skin, or perhaps that was just the soft sunlight. _She seemed bothered,_ Kiba noted as he observed his companion chew on her bottom lip. She would tell him what was on her mind, though. She always eventually do.

"Anosaa...," Akira began hesitantly, breaking the silence that had settled over them, proving Kiba right. He waited patiently for the next part to come.

"Do you know how it feels like...falling in love?"

Kiba was taken aback by the question. Was she serious about this, or was it just one of the random questions that occasionally popped up in her head out of the blue? _But no, it couldn't have been just a random question_ - her scent was tinted with apprehension, something Kiba rarely smelt on his female companion. _Does that mean she's -_

"Hello? Earth to Kiba!" The said boy blinked clear his thoughts to see a leather-gloved hand waving in front of him. "Jeez, you really need to stop this zoning-out habit of yours."

He barked a laugh, though it came out a little bit more nervously than he would have liked, and asked, "Nande? Did Akira-_chan_ actually fall in love?" He kept his tone carefully light and casual, though his question was a serious one.

Akira shot a side-glare to her best friend at the teasing. For a moment, Kiba thought she was going to scold him for asking such a stupid question. But the jaded eyes then averted their gaze and resumed staring into the far distance.

"Maybe," Akira replied simply, and Kiba felt his stomach lurch unpleasantly for some unknown reason. A pause, and then "Answer my question, mutt head."

"Eh—" The Inuzuka exclaimed as he sat up to examine the girl more closely - her autumn hair, which had now reached to just past her shoulders, her slender limbs, her petite yet well-built frame. His gaze fell on her lips -those full lips that were set in a slight frown but still looked so...kissable. At that thought, Kiba's heart beat quickened as he licked his own lips nervously. "What?" Akira's emerald orbs narrowed as she turned to meet the stare of her friend, giving Kiba a full view of her attractive face, the strawberry sunburn on her nose as distinct as ever in the setting sunlight.

"I-I might know," Kiba admitted. "Not that I've ever felt it before, of course." He quickly lied, and Akira's eyebrow raised by a tiny inch. "Hinata's in my team, and, you know how she's like with Naruto. She practically breaks down in front of that idiot and melt at his every smile. When you're in love, you blush a lot, and your eyes will shift their gaze constantly, looking anywhere but at the other's face, particularly the eyes. Your heartbeat elevates, the blood in your ears pumps faster, your hands start to feel sweaty. Time slows and your senses seem to sharpen, you become dreadfully aware of what you look like, what you're doing and - what?"

For Akira had stopped to stare at the Inuzuka boy, mouth slightly agape. Too late, Kiba realized that he had said too much, practically spewed out an entire confession. He resisted the urge to slap himself.

"Hi-Hinata told me all these," he attempted to cover it up with a flustered wave of his hand, his smile almost painful. If Akira suspected anything, she didn't point it out.

"Sou ka," she said at last, sighing as she laid down on her back and propped one knee up on the other, in a position similar to what Kiba had been in just moments ago. "Kiba, you haven't been in love before?" Her bright eyes peered at him with curiosity.

Heart thumped faster as his mouth formed out the word "Nope." _Damn, those eyes were beautiful._

"Not even Hinata-chan?"

Kiba snorted at that suggestion. It was true that his teammate was very attractive, both physically and personality-wise. But really, Kiba had viewed her more as a sister than anything. Besides, she was head over heels in love with that blonde idiot.

He eyed the girl beside him again, the girl that he did have feelings for. "Darega?"

"What?"

"Who, who are you in love with?"

The emerald eyes narrowed and brows creased into a frown. "I never said I was in love with anyone."

Kiba rolled his wolf-like eyes. "Please, as if I can believe that, you practically stink of lovesi- Hey! Can you sit properly?" The boy suddenly noticed the position the girl was in.

"You were sitting like this just now!" Akira cried out indignantly.

"You're a girl!" Kiba retorted, equally defensive.

"I'm wearing shorts, you pervert."

"It's not becoming of a lady," Kiba shot back.

"Oh, really? And how would you know what's becoming of a lady?" Akira mocked.

Kiba looked away and grumbled something that sounded like "I have a sister."

"Whatever," the girl said, and by the ruffling sounds of fabric, Kiba could tell that she had settled into a less revealing position.

He shot a glance at the girl stretched out beside him. Her head rested comfortably in her hands as she closed her eyes, a relaxed smile gracing her elegant features. Akamaru had laid his head on her stomach, equally contented. Kiba caught the sweet scent of maple, along with a tiny tinge of mint, that he's gotten accustomed to smelling whenever she's around.

_He had admitted to her, one day when they were twelve, still students, that everyone carried a unique scent about him or her, and he would always identify it with something common, a food, or a plant of sorts._

"_Hontouni? Really?" Akira had been delighted to hear that, and her eyes shone with excitement. "Ja, what do I smell like?"_

_Kiba pushed her nose close to her face to sniff, though the first part wasn't exactly necessary by now. "Maple," he answered after thinking for a while._

"_Maple?" Akira's was perpetually confused. "Like maple syrup?"_

"_Maple leaves," Kiba corrected her. "And a bit of mint." It was a fragrant combination, he noticed._

"_And here I thought I would reek of red bean with the amount of dangos _nee-chan _eats in the house," Akira said with a slight laugh. _[AN: Yep, if you haven't realised by now, her sister is no other than Mitarashi Anko.]

"_Each person is born with his or her scent. It is innate, just like how our personalities are."_

"_That's really cool," Akira sighed. "Say, how does Shikamaru smell like?"_

_And they had spent the rest of the day with Akira naming someone and Kiba telling her how they smelt to him. Some he could immediately identify, some he had to personally go up to smell. The activity was abruptly terminated when Akimi had asked about Ebisu-sensei and Kiba had crept up to the said man from behind and had the adult fart into his face. Kiba had received a scolding then for creeping up on people but Ebisu-sensei, after mistaking the tears in the boys eyes which had formed when his nose received the full brunt of the stench as guilt, had let him off easily. Kiba stubbornly refused to abide to Akira's requests afterwards. In the days that followed, he had taken heed to steer clear of the man that he had associated with the smell of release every time he caught sight of the sunglasses and black bandanna._

A gentle breeze blew past, bringing Kiba back to his senses. Stray strands of auburn hair danced freely, almost forming a halo around Akira's head. The scent of maples overwhelmed him, made him slightly giddy.

"I love you," he blurted out, before his mind registered what he was doing.

Without missing a beat, Akira replied, "I love you, too."

Stunned, the Inuzuka could only stutter out, "You...you do?"

"Of course," the red-haired girl opened one eye to fix the boy gaping down at her with a queer stare. "You're my best friend."

Kiba almost yelled out in frustration _"I didn't mean it in that sense!" _but this time he managed to stop himself. Meanwhile, Akira had removed one hand from beneath her hand and proceeded to scratch Akamaru behind the ear. The dog purred with pleasure.

"I knew I was irresistible," Kiba finally said, which earned him a punch on the arm from his friend.

"Watch your ego, mutt head," she teased. Kiba smiled, albeit a bit sadly.

_One day, _he swore._ One day he would confess._

* * *

**I started this story by writing this chapter first, can you believe it. It's a short chapter, but a chapter, nonetheless. (Just btw, I first mistook Ebisu as Ibiki o.o) The next one is almost complete, save a few parts, will hopefully upload it by today.**

**Feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**『秋の日に』**

**第三章：****雨の午後**

_Rainy Afternoons_

Sheets of gray rain poured down on Konohagakure mercilessly. Inuzuka Kiba was one of the few villagers roaming the streets, a vinyl umbrella in one hand, dog at his heel. Kiba despised the rain. It dulled his senses, and the humid atmosphere seemed to press down on him, creating an unnatural weight in his chest. Heck, if it wasn't for his mom ordering him to go out to buy the groceries, he wouldn't have even given a second thought about stepping out of the house.

"What horrible weather," he muttered under his breath, before shooting a glance at his dog. "Ne, Aka- NO, Akamaru, you can't!- ahh.." The white hound, despite his master's desperate cries, had took the pleasure of giving his body a huge shake to rid his fur of all the raindrops, splattering a generous amount on the boy next to him in the process. It was a rather pointless act, if you ask Kiba, considering how the dog was drenched again in a matter of seconds.

"How many damn times have I told you not to do th-" Kiba cursed angrily but stopped abruptly when a memory stirred within the depths of his mind.

"_Akamaru!" The auburn-haired girl yelped in alarm as she received a spray of rainwater from the shaking dog. "Jeez, Kiba, control your dog!"_

_The Inuzuka boy only grinned and reached down to pat his canine friend in response, infuriating the female even further. "Good boy, Akamaru- Hey, not on me! Bad boy! BAD boy!" Akira smirked at him in turn as he received the same treatment only a few seconds later after her._

"Wonder how she's doing now," he mused softly, staring into the gray distance. It had been eight days since they fell out, eight long agonizing days where Kiba had tried his best to steer clear from the kunoichi (it helped that he was away for a mission for half of the time). He was certain she had been avoiding him as well - Kiba knew for a fact that the Mitarashi girl could hold grudges for pretty long. Still, he hoped he could find the chance to apologise and make up to her some day – he didn't quite fancy losing his best friend like that. Yep, his friendship with the autumn girl was worth way more than his stupid pride.

_The red-haired girl had appeared at their meeting place that day, carrying a cheerful aura about her. Kiba noticed it immediately and teased the reason out of her._

"_Nande?" He asked as he approached her, right hand held up in greeting. "What's with the cheerful face instead of the usual gloomy one?"_

_Akira had aimed a punch at his arms, huffing. "I don't usually have a gloomy face!" Kiba only laughed as he dodged the punch._

_And then, on a more serious note, she announced, "I'm going on a date."_

_Kiba felt the grin dissipate from his face in a flash. He felt his throat tighten up with, was that, disappointment?_

_'Wh-what,' He croaked out. "Dareto? Who with?"_

_Akira dropped her gaze and knelt down to scratch Akamaru's ear. Kiba wasn't sure if he imagined it but he thought he saw a blush forming on his friends' fair cheeks. It just made his insides squirm even more with trepidation._

"_Hyuuga Neji."_

_Kiba felt as if he'd received a blow in the gut. _That _Neji? Hinata's cousin, otherwise known as the Hyuuga genius? _

He should've known,_ he realized with another shock. It had been a few weeks back when Akira shared with him how the Hyuuga male had appeared in front of her at the last moment and took on a flurry of shurikens during one of their joint missions. Kiba hadn't given it much thought then, but the auburn-haired girl had pinked slightly when she mentioned that she was going to visit him in the hospital. In the days that followed, Kiba had been slightly surprised to see the Mitarashi girl bow her head whenever she meets the Hyuuga, addressing him with "Neji-sempai" – Akira almost never displayed formalities, except towards elders._

"_So?" Akira was peering up at him, observing his reaction. "What do you think?"_

_Kiba wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Why that guy? He stinks like a pile of crap."_

_A crease formed above the girl's brows. "That's not a nice thing to say."_

"_I'm just stating the truth," Kiba's voice was dripping with venom he didn't think he possessed. "Don't waste your time with him, Akira. He won't care shit about you."_

"_...You're wrong." Akira's eyes narrowed dangerously but her voice wavered slightly._

"_Am I? Look at how he treated Hinata!"_

"_He's changed, Kiba!" The girl shot up and snapped at him, fists clenched at her side._

_Kiba just shrugged, undaunted. "Just telling you my opinion of him."_

"_Thanks then," Akira replied drily, with zero hint of gratitude in her voice. "But I'd rather form my own judgment of him myself." And then, she turned away as her tone changed, and the hurt in her voice almost tore Kiba apart. "I thought you would be supportive. It would have meant a lot, to me." Kiba mentally slapped himself upon her words. _Of course, he was meant to be her supportive best friend, not some overly-jealous,_ he finally acknowledged that tight feeling in his chest, _asshole.

_Kiba reached out to gently place his hands on her shoulders. Oh, how he yearned to hold her, to never let her go. "Gomen," he murmured into her ears. "I-I just don't want anyone to take you away from me."_

_And just like that, Akira, spun around, out of his grasp, and struck him hard on his cheek._

"_You selfish bastard," she hissed harshly, Kiba's head still turned sharply away from her. "I'm not yours to be taken away from."_

_With that, she turned her back on him and stalked away furiously, not once looking back._

_Kiba's hand reached up to briefly touch the place he was hit, where an angry mark was forming. He winced at the pain, then sighed as he let his hand drop back to his side._

_'I deserved that, didn't I?' He asked his dog, who had watched the whole scene unfold silently._

_Akamaru only whimpered in response._

The nerves on his cheek still tingling with the pain from that particular memory, Kiba turned the corner. And as he did so, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent of maple. _No, it can't be,_ he was just hallucinating the scent of her because he was thinking about her, is all. But the more he tried to shut his mind from her, the stronger the scent got. Kiba thought he could catch a hint of sorrow infused in the sweet scent of maple, but that could have just been the rain. _Damn it,_ his thoughts brewed angrily, _was he so infatuated with the girl that he could smell her without her even being around?_

And right at that moment, he caught sight of her.

She was a desolate figure standing alone in the rain. As the boy neared, he realized with a jolt that the girl was donning a dress - a simple, pale-yellow spaghetti-strapped dress that reminded him of graceful sunflowers, one that greatly complemented her hair, which was tied up in an elegant side-braid. He had never seen Akira wearing a dress before. And as his umbrella came close enough to shelter her, the girl spun around, the dress resembling soft flickering flames, and for a moment her emerald eyes lit up at the man before her. But when she realized it was only Kiba (_only Kiba,_ the phrase stung), her face fell and the light in her eyes extinguished.

_She was waiting for someone else,_ he realized. And then, with an even greater shock,

_She's waiting for Neji. She's on her date._

Kiba's shoulders tensed, but at that moment, the Mitarashi girl turned to gaze off into the distance again. Kiba never noticed how Akira's hair, when wet, took on a darker shade of brown.

"Hey, Kiba." Her voice was low, and if it wasn't for Kiba's dog-like sense of hearing, he might have missed it in the pattering sound of the rain falling all around them.

"Baka, what do you think you are doing, staying out in the rain?" The Inuzuka boy chastised his friend, though he did it gently, getting the feel as if he were threading on something fragile.

Akira stayed mute for a long while. The silence enveloped them the way the umbrella sheltered them, a shadow in the gloomy backdrop.

"Yappari," her voice finally shattered the deafening silence. "He's not coming, after all." Her voice broke at the last syllable as she sunk to the ground, burying her face into her hands.

"Akira..." Her tiny form shook as raindrops streaked down her cheeks. A tiny muffled sound escaped her lips and with a shock, Kiba realized that what was flowing down her face was more than the rain itself.

_Akira was crying._

The sight scared him intensely. Akira never cried - that was the way he had come to know this girl. She hadn't cried when Kuromaru, which had been twice her size then, had almost attacked her; hadn't cried when she fractured her arm from that fall from the monkey bars (shortly after which she had taken great pleasure in delivering deadly blows with her cast); hadn't cried when the multiple kunais pierced her back during the Chuunin exams; had hardly uttered a sob at the funeral of her team mate just one year ago. (Though Kiba had caught a hint of saline on her after the event but had the courtesy not to point it out.)

She was the bravest kunoichi he knew, _and yet..._

Suddenly, his cold insides started boiling with anger as his mind jumped to the man who had hurt her like this, the man who had broken her. The visual image of the stoic male, his Hyuuga mercurial eyes void of emotions just infuriated him even further as a low growl emitted from within his throat.

_But for now..._

The Inuzuka boy sighed as he dropped down to Akira's level, his vinyl umbrella forming a cosy shell over them. Hesitantly, he placed his hand on her back and started rubbing it gently, as a form of comfort.

"Daijoubu," he whispered over and over again, reassuringly. "I'm here."

Gradually, the female's sobs diminished to occasional hiccups and when Akamaru shoved his nose at the girl's face, she finally raised it. Despite her tear-streaked face and puffy red eyes, she still managed to give a weak smile as she ruffled the top of Akamaru's head. (_She didn't put on make-up, _Kiba noticed. And then he almost laughed at his stupidity. Of course, since when was Akira ever into make-up? Since when did she ever need it to make her look beautiful?)

"Gomen ne," she whispered. "For making you worry, Akamaru." The dog responded by leaning in and licking the tears off the Mitarashi girl's face as she laughed lightly upon the ticklish contact.

And then she turned to face Kiba, and the boy's breath caught - her face was just inches away from his and he caught the full scent of her sweet breath as she said with a pained smile, "I just hate it when you're right, mutt head."

Kiba found himself entranced by those pair of emerald eyes - still sparkling especially bright from the tears. It would just take a split of a second for him to close the distance between him and her and press his lips onto hers _- but no_. Even Kiba knew that that was a dirty move, taking advantage of a girl when she was in a vulnerable state.

He forced a grin at her, flashing his canine teeth, and said, "Psh, forget about that. Ikou, I'll take you somewhere."

The girl barely had time to respond "Doko e-! Where to-!" before Kiba pushed the umbrella into her hands, stood up and pulled Akira to her feet, using the momentum created to carry her by the waist and placed her gently onto Akamaru's back. Akira was too stunned to even protest as Kiba climbed on after her, wrapping one arm around her slender waist, one hand gripping his dog's fur - usually Kiba only reserved the honor of riding Akamru for himself only.

"Hold on tight," he smirked into her ear as he commanded the dog to move. With a bark, the dog leapt into the air (Kiba had been pleased at how Akira had gripped his arm tightly then), and soared onto the rooftops, bounding from one to another. Their ride ended when Akamaru, with one final soaring leap, landed on top of the Hokage monuments, and panted in a satisfied manner as his owner dropped from his back and helped his female companion off as well.

"Koko de! Here!" he announced, using one arm to gesture at the view behind him, which, despite the gray sheen of rain, was still as scenic ever. "Now shout, however you like!" He shot her a big grin, which Akira returned with a confused glance.

"Nani?"

"Just shout - as loud as you can," Kiba explained. "It'll help vent your frustration, trust me." When Akira continued to gape at him, he impatiently turned around, cup his hands around his mouth and yelled at the top of his mouth.

"BOKU WA," he promised, his husky voice seemed to reverberate throughout the entire village. "ZETTAI KIMI GA SAIDO NAKUSASERUKOTO WA KESSHITENAI DAROU! I will never let you cry again!"

He turned back to her, with an almost-sheepish expression on his face. "How's that, eh?" His hand reached behind to scratch at his neck.

Akira laughed, a genuine laugh that instantly warmed Kiba's insides, as she in turn faced the village that lay before them and shouted, "NEJI WA BAKA DESU!"

"NEJI WA BAKA DESU!" Kiba echoed after her. And just like that, the two took turns to exhaust all the emotions that they had bottled inside them, with an occasional howl from Akamaru here and there, and it felt good. It was only when Kiba shouted "TSUNADE-SAMA WA OBAN DA! Tsunade-sama's an old hag!" (a stupid move seeing as the Hokage's office was just directly below them) and attracted the unwanted attention of the Hokage herself ("WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING, DISTURBING THE ENTIRE VILLAGE?!") that they immediately stopped and dropped down to the ground to avoid the Godaime's dagger glares. Still, they couldn't stop snorting with laughter and for a while, it was as if they were back in the old days - getting into trouble together.

"Kiba."

"Hm?" As Kiba turned towards the voice, his face received a handful of water and mud as Akira splashed the rainwater on the ground at him. "Mud head!" The girl cried out in glee, almost bursting into a fit of laughter once more.

"Why you..." He growled and splashed back, but the nimble girl had wisely jumped out of reach. She took off in the opposite direction as Kiba hastily stood up while wiping the murk off his face.

Unfortunately for Akira, her dress greatly hindered her movements, and even though she had flung off her tight sandals after a while, it was only a matter of time before the Inuzuka boy caught up to her and tackled her to the muddy ground. They spent some time rolling around a bit, each trying to gain dominance over the other, but eventually, Kiba's strength won out and he managed to pin both of her hands to the ground, his legs trapped both of hers in between his tightly, as he towered over her on all fours.

"I win," he smirked, as he eyed the prize beneath him. Akira's auburn hair had fell out of its side-braid a long time ago, and now fanned out beneath her. Her fair cheeks were flushed with adrenaline, and her chest rose and fell with every breath she took. Kiba was panting himself and their breaths merged to form a white mist in between them. They were so close - Kiba's nose could almost touch hers, and his wolf-like eyes followed as a bead of sweat trickled down Akira's sharp jawline, down her slender neck, and into..._Kuso_, he could feel his member throb almost painfully as it swell with desire. Hell, he would love nothing better than to kiss her here and now.

"Kiba..." A voice disturbed his train of thoughts and his eyes snapped back to meet Akira's jaded ones, which, though looking a bit dazed, now shone with excitement. They stared at each other for a long while - Kiba was sure Akira could hear his abnormally fast heartbeat. A surge of emotions took over him, his eyes blinked shut and he found himself leaning forward, closer, closer...

"_Ah-Choo!"_ The boy jerked back as the spray hit him, eyes sprang open in shock.

The girl he was about to kiss _freaking sneezed into his face._

As if that wasn't enough, the girl took advantage of his slackened grip to knee him in the groin, hard. As the Inuzuka boy rolled about on the ground, howling in pain, the girl got to her feet and smoothed out the creases in her dress, though it was beyond ruins by now.

"Nope," it was her turn to smirk as she crouched down beside the Inuzuka boy. "I win."

"You're evil!" Kiba rasped at her, still cringing in pain from the blow. "Pure evil!" Akira only shook her head and laughed, but it was cut off by another sneeze. "Yah, stop sneezing into my face!"

"Stop being there whenever I sneeze!" The girl just continued laughing, before another sneeze erupted from her mouth. "Damn, I think I caught something," she said. That got Kiba to sober up.

"Daijoubuka?" He asked as he sat up, eyes filled with concern. "Koko." With that, he took off his sleek leather jacket and passed it to the girl.

"You do know that it's wet and won't help much, right?" Akira mumbled but still slipped it on gratefully over the thin fabric of her dress anyway as Kiba went to retrieve the umbrella that they have abandoned long ago.

The ride back to the Inuzuka compound was passed in silence, save for the occasional sneeze from Akira. While Akira was probably tired from the emotional turmoil, Kiba spent the time thinking back on what had transpired between them just now – damn it, he was _that _close. If only she hadn't sneezed, if only he had acted faster, if only...

"INUZUKA KIBA, WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE THIS TIME!?"

A shriek of fury jolted him violently from his thoughts as the white hound landed at his doorstep – right at the feet of Inuzuka Tsume. Kiba blinked as his mother glared at his disheveled form, complete with muddy and wet clothes which she probably had smelt long before they arrived.

"I...was caught in the rain?" he replied weakly. Sixteen years and his mom was still the only one who had power over him like that.

"DON'T YOU TRY TO GIVE ME A LAME EXCUSE, BOY!" Tsume raged on. "AND WHERE ARE THE GROCERIES!?" _Oops._ "I WANT THEM FIRST THING IN THE MORNING."

"Dame yo," Kiba rejected, internally wincing at what he imagined would be his mother's response to his answer. "I'm going on a mission tomorrow."

"I DON'T FREAKING CA-"

"I'll get the groceries for you tomorrow, Tsume-san."

Akira piped in, and the Inuzuka female finally shifted her attention towards the red-haired. A survey of her body, of her ruined dress, of Kiba's jacket (that, she narrowed her eyes at), of her red nose, and (Kiba was pretty sure), of the scent of saline still left on her, had her soften her hard expression.

"Huh, I guess that'll do as well. At least I can trust you to not break the eggs."

Akira beamed at her. "Of course." And then she sneezed.

Tsume shot the girl a disapproving look. "You've caught a cold, Not very wise, with this season. Come in quickly before it worsens." And then, to Kiba, who attempted to follow, "I will _not_ have you tromping around the house in this state. Climb up to your room or something, then shower before finding a change of clothes for Akira from Hana's room. She won't be going home tonight, not in this weather. And for goodness sake, get Akamaru a good wash while you're at it." The door was slammed into Kiba's flabbergasted face.

"Can you believe it? She lets in Akira but not her own son!" Grumbling, he leapt onto one of the branches hanging outside his window, slid it open and slipped in with his dog. After a good rinse, he dug through his sister's drawers for something Akira could wear (taking heed to keep everything neat and organised – Hana would flip if she knew Kiba was rummaging through her things).

"Koko," he said as he entered the living room, tossing the clothes in the direction of the couch. "The shower is all yours." Akira caught it, and jaded eyes appraised the outfit he had handpicked: a shirt with flowy-long sleeves and comfortable-looking track pants. Kiba had specifically chose the shirt with her favourite colour, purple.

"Thanks, mutt head," Akira grinned, as she stood up to leave. Kiba noticed she was still donning his jacket, despite the towel wrapped around her shoulders.

_It can remain there for as long she likes_, he decided.

* * *

After dinner, which was a steaming hot chicken broth (Inuzuka Tsume was actually more motherly than she lets on), peppered with tiny strands of conversation (_"Haven't had you in the house for a long while, Akira-chan."), _Kiba led Akira to his room, where she would be staying the night. It wouldn't be the first time she had spent the night at the Inuzuka residence, and yet, as Kiba entered behind the girl into his room, he felt slightly, _shy?_ His wolf-like eyes quickly surveyed the room and he picked out things he never noticed before – such as the empty kappu ramen he left on his table (_god, it stank_), the pair of socks he left at the foot of his bed (_at least that didn't smell as much_), Akamaru's thoroughly-chewed bone-toy lying in one corner. _Not suitable for a girl,_ he realised, wondering why he never thought of all these before.

"I'll take the floor, you can have the bed," he said as he casually tossed the ramen container into the bin (_he'd clear that tomorrow morning_), and flipped the dirty socks onto the floor (_that, too_). Akira didn't seem to mind as she settled down onto the bed, swinging her legs in anticipation. The chicken broth had worked miracles on her and her sneezes were now reduced to occasional sniffles.

"Asobou."

"Play what, exactly?" the boy replied. Akira wrinkled her nose in thought.

"Didn't you have that deck of cards somewhere. We can play _karuta*_."

"That works." It didn't take him long to locate the deck of cards from within the depths of his drawer. Back when they were younger, the two used to challenge each other to it frequently, because _karuta_ was a test of speed and speed was something both shinobi were definitely not lacking in.

It was on their twenty-eighth game, just after Kiba let out a roar of frustration for losing _yet_ another game to Akira, when Tsume stomped upstairs and swung open the door with a loud _bam_.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TWO STILL AWAKE!? AKIRA, YOU NEED TO SLEEP, AND KIBA, DON'T YOU HAVE A MISSION TOMORROW?"

"It seems like we're doomed to be yelled at by old hags today," Kiba grumbled as his mother left (with another resounding _bam_), drawing uncontrollable laughter from his female companion. Akira laughed so hard until she choked on her own snot, at which Kiba started laughing as well. Unfortunately for him, his comment fell within earshot of his mother (because hearing ranges can be quite wide, as far as an Inuzuka goes), and he was still laughing when the woman decked him on his head, hard.

"I heard that, you nasty ingrate," she breathed down on her son, who trembled in fear, all mirth gone.

"Gomen," he squeaked out.

Akira made sure Tsume was well gone before bursting into laughter again. "You were so scared!"

Kiba huffed. "Careful, or you'll choke on your own snot again." That shut the girl up. Both decided that they wouldn't provoke Tsume anymore by retiring for the night.

"I _love_ sleeping on rainy days," Akira murmured, nuzzling her cheeks against the fluffy pillow of Kiba's bed, as the boy rolled out a futon on the floor and settled into it after turning off the lights. Kiba found that action awfully endearing. The idea of not washing that pillow for weeks was unusually tempting, just to retain her scent.

The maple scent that was still tinted with saline from the tears earlier today.

"Listen," he propped himself up with elbow and frowned at the back of his female friend, wrapped up in blankets. "I'm sorry about today. I wished it could have been different, really, I-"

"Iya," Akira interjected, her sound came out slightly muffled by the thick layers she was in. "Kyou, totemo ureshikatta ne. I was really happy today."

"U-ureshi-?"

"Ee,," came the reply from the red-brown head. "Anata no okakedesu. Thanks to you. Arigatou, Kiba. Ja, oyasumi."

"Oyasumi," the Inuzuka replied quietly, feeling warmth spreading from within.

Kiba despised the rain. It dulled his senses, and the humid atmosphere seemed to press down on him, creating an unnatural weight in his chest.

_But today, _he thought as he eased back into his futon with a grin etched across his features, _wasn't that bad, at all._

* * *

*Karuta – A Japanese card game that requires players to quickly determine which card out of an array of card is required and then to grab the card before it is grabbed by an opponent.

**Fu-wahh *lets out a long breath* That was a long chapter. The next update might take quite a while - still not decided as to how the story should progress from here. Kinda itching to switch to Akira's perspective but have thought out a scene from Kiba's pov already. Hm.**

**Feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**『秋の日に』**

**第四章：****晴朗な朝**

_Clear Mornings_

"_Shimatta, I'm late!" _

Passer-bys turned their heads at the sudden exclamation but only caught a swirl of dust as Inuzuka Kiba whizzed past with his dog at his side, making their way towards the East gate. They maneuvered through the streets, jumped over carts, dodged between strangers, and were making good progress until they turned the corner of the grocer and collided with someone carrying multiple bags of grocery. The person gave a startled yell as she was knocked backwards by the force (Kiba was running _fast_), her dropped paper bags split open all around her. The sound of breaking glass could be heard.

Before the girl even looked up, Kiba had identified her by her scent. "Akira?"

"Kiba?" The girl's bright green eyes mirrored the surprise in his. "What are you doing here? Didn't you have a mission?"

"Yeah, I do," Kiba confirmed, one hand scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, as the other hand easily pulled the auburn-haired girl to her feet. "But on my way I encountered some delay..." He trailed off, recalling what happened to him just minutes before.

_Sauntering through the streets of Konohagakure (he hadn't been late originally), Kiba's keen nose had caught a certain someone's familiar scent. Immediately, a rumble emitted from deep within as he felt his whole body bristle with anger. His white dog, sensing his master's fury, stiffened next to him._

"_Ikusou, Akamaru!" the Inuzuka male's command literally came out as a growl as both boy and dog took off towards the scent._

_Neji was walking towards the training grounds with his teammates, where they had arranged to meet with Gai-sensei. Out of the blue, he heard the pattering sounds of a pair of sandaled feet running towards them from the right and as he turned his head to identify the intruder, his Hyuuga eyes caught sight of Inuzuka Kiba rushing towards them, dog by his side. His sharp, wolf-like eyes were trained on Neji's and carried with them a murderous intent. Too late, Neji tried to side-step the incoming shinobi, but Kiba had already grabbed hold of his collar and slammed the older man against the wall, hard._

"_Temee!" Kiba's snarl was accompanied by Akamaru's threatening growl, as Neji searched his mind for any instances where he had accidentally (or not) offended the Inuzuka. He came up with nothing. Lee's astonished "Kiba-kun!" fell onto deaf ears as the said boy did not for a second relinquish his tight grip on the Hyuuga._

"_What the hell are you talking about, Inuzuka," Neji hissed, milky-white eyes narrowed with anger. If possible, Kiba's grip tightened, till his fist was practically trembling with the effort._

"_You know _bloody well_ what I am talking about, Hyuuga!" he almost spat in the other boy's face. "She waited for you! It was raining and yet she still waited!" White eyes widened with realisation as it finally dawned upon Neji what he was referring to. Or rather, who. Kiba's mouth curled into a sneer._

"_Finally remembered, didn't you? She was certain you'd come but you never once freaking stopped to consider her feelings. Perhaps I should just rip your throat out, right here and now. That'll teach you about breaking a girl's heart next time!"_

_Neji fearlessly stared back into the wild Inuzuka eyes. "You're wrong. It's true that I don't harbor any particular feelings for Akira but I would have gone, really I would. After all, I did promise and she did deserve as much. Shikashi," Neji pressed on when Kiba's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "There was an emergency Hyuuga meeting that day that was conjured at the last-minute. I had no choice."_

"_And you never ever once thought of conveying a message to her to explain your absence. Never once thought of abandoning your filthy pride to apologise with that arrogant mouth of yours," Kiba continued bearing his sharpened canine teeth down on the Hyuuga in front of him. "_You_ are the one that's in the wrong. She never deserved you, not now, not forever."_

_Neji snapped then. With eyes still trained on the Inuzuka, he said with a piercing tone. "If you care so much about her, why don't you just confess to her already?" Black eyes widened in shock and Neji took advantage of Kiba's slackened grip to free himself and smoothed the creases in his robes before straightening up again. "Or do you feel that she doesn't deserve you, either?" Turning to his teammates, who had been silently observing all this while, he started to leave. Tenten followed, but Lee stayed behind a while longer._

"_You'd better win her heart over soon, Kiba-kun," he advised the younger boy. "Before someone else steals it away again." With that, he turned on his heels to catch up with his teammates._

"_I don't need you to tell me _that_," Kiba growled out through gritted teeth, fists clenched at his sides as he glared after the retreating figures._

_Damn the Hyuuga eyes that see everything._

At this point, Kiba cast a nervous glance at Akira. To his surprise, his female friend had turned very still, her copper head bent over one of the paper bags that had dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. Slowly, she withdrew her hand out of the bag and once again, Kiba's sense of smell recognised what it was before he saw it. _Shimatta!_

Mitarashi Akira's hand was covered with the sitcky, gooey substance of egg yolk.

"_Inuzuka Kiba..."_ the girl's voice was hushed, as she slowly lifted her face to reveal a very, very creepy-looking smile plastered onto her face. Kiba cringed instinctively. Let's say that Akira could rival Inuzuka Tsume in terms of level of scariness when she wanted to. "Akira-"

"_I promised Tsume-san I wouldn't break the eggs, Inuzuka Kiba_," the girl continued, her grin stretching even wider. "_But they still broke in the end. Why is that so, do you think?"_

"Eh..." Kiba gulped, his palms starting to sweat profusely.

"_Someone is going to go back to buy more eggs. Can you guess who?"_

"Me! Me!" Kiba immediately volunteered enthusiastically, and Akira beamed brilliantly at him. "Sou desuka? Thank you then, mutt head."

Kiba quickly scrambled off in the direction of the grocer, but before he could, Akira stopped him, her tone serious now. "Matte!"

"Nande?" Kiba shouted hotly back, not bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice. "I don't have all the time in the world, you know?"

"Let me see that."

A look of surprise flashed across the dog-boy's face, as he processed his friend's sudden request in his mind. "N-Nani?"

"Let me see that!" Akira repeated, annoyance starting to creep into her voice. She motioned at something between his hip and knee, her gaze softening. "It looks big."

Kiba spluttered violently, backing away a few steps. "Wh-What?! Why do you want to see it?"

Akira shot him a glare that said clearly_ Isn't it obvious? _"Just let me see it!" she growled as she lunged for him, and Kiba jumped back, yelping in surprise, "Dame! You can't!"

Akira glowered at him. "What's with you?!"

"What's with _you_?!"

"What's wrong with letting me see it?" Kiba could think of a million reasons why it was wrong. Why the hell did she suddenly want to see it, anyway? I mean, sure, he wouldn't mind letting her see it, and she _had_ seen it before, on burning summer days when they had stripped down completely to lie in the trees, but that was when they were young and it was different, now. Plus, he was certain she didn't see him in _that _way, did she?

"_Inuzuka Kiba_." Kiba instinctively shuddered, and turned to see, with horror, that the eerie smile had reappeared on Akira's face.

"Ok, ok, fine!" he yelped, sudden afraid. "I'll let you see it." And, his fingers fumbling, he started to take off his pants.

Akira gaped at him. "What the hell?! What the heck are you doing, Kiba?!"

"You wanted to see it!" he retorted angrily, still in the midst of taking off his pants. Akira had turned her face away sharply from him, a blush tainting her cheeks. "Not _that!_" She sounded exasperated. "A piece of glass had lodged itself into your thigh." At the same time, Kiba had finally caught sight of the transparent shard that he assumed had pierced him when some damn glass thing had broke just now.

"Oh," he breathed out, lamely.

"Okaa-san," a boy's voice called out, and both boy and girl turned to look at the young boy that had appeared with his mother. "That boy is flashing to the girl."

"Don't look," the mother ordered, shielding her son from the sight, rushing him into the grocer. But not before they heard the boy asking, "Is he raping the girl?" Kiba gaped.

"What are you still standing there for, baka!" Akira shouted, her face still turned away from him. "_Put on your damn pants!"_

"Jeez," she sighed, as she approached him after the boy had finally redressed. "You're really a mutt head. Now, sit and hold still." Kiba didn't even so much as flinch as she quickly drew out the shard of glass from him. "Yappari, it is _big._" Reaching back for her medical pouch hanging at her hips, she drew out a white roll of gauze and started to bandage his leg.

"Warui na," he murmured his apology, as Akira, not too gently, tied a knot in his bandage.

"Can you believe it," she said. "Haven't even started on your mission and you've already injured yourself_ and_ dirtied your clothes."

Kiba nodded. "It takes skills you kn- Wait! Dirty what clothes?"

"This clothes." And with that, Akira rubbed her hand against his leather jacket, leaving a trail of gooey egg yolk behind. "Tsk tsk, Kiba." She smirked, clicking her tongue reprovingly at her friend.

"Akira..." he groaned loudly. _Great, now he'd smell of eggs for the rest of the day._ Akamaru trotted over and started licking his master's jacket greedily, slobbering all over him in the process. _Even better._ As Akira continued to snicker, he placed his hands on the white hound and attempted to push the dog away from him. Which was not an easy task, given Akamaru's size.

"Hora, okaa-san! Now he's even raping the dog!"

Kiba whipped his head sharply just to see the same boy disappearing around the corner with his mother. "Warugaki," he cursed under his breath, as Akira bent over, laughing.

"Didn't know you have such..._interests_, Kiba," she chortled.

"Uruse," the boy growled out. "I'm going to get the eggs."

"Don't forget the jam. You broke that as well," Akira called out after him.

"Wakkata, wakkata," he answered irritably. "Jeez, onna." It was only when he was at the counter paying for his purchased goods that he realised Akira conveniently forgot to pass him money, meaning that he had to pay from his own pockets. "Seriously!"

"Koko," he said, shoving the bags at the girl, who accepted cheerfully.

"A-ri-ga-to-u," she sang out. And then, "Aren't you late for your mission, Kiba?"

Her words jolted the Inuzuka boy into realisation. "Shimatta! I'm really late! Ja, na, Akira! Oh god Kurenai-sensei is going to be so mad and Shino is going to give me _that look_ again..."

"Hai, hai," Akira chuckled. "Matta ne."

But before Kiba left, he turned back to say to her, in a serious tone. "The delay just now...I met Neji." He watched the girl's reaction carefully.

A slight frown creased the girl's eyebrows. "I'm over it."

_Are you?_ Kiba gently mused. But out loud, he said, "He had a last-minute clan meeting yesterday, therefore wasn't able to make it." And then, he added. "He sends his apologies." Why he lied, he wasn't sure. He hated himself for it.

The ends of Akira's curled up into a soft smile. "Sou ka." Kiba turned to leave again, but he was stopped again, this time by Akira.

"Naze...Why did you confront him for me, Kiba?"

She was looking at him, green eyes meeting black ones, eyes he has grown familiar with over the years. Kiba was suddenly reminded of how much time had passed since he first saw that pair of eyes, how much they both have matured since then.

He scoffed, as if the answer was obvious. "Kimi ga boku no tomodachi dakara." And then he turned, not planning to be stopped a third time. "Ja, na."

* * *

_Because you are my friend._

His sentence seemed to still hang in the air as Akira watched the disappearing shadows of dog and owner. A smile graced her features as she mumbled, "Mutt face." Groceries clutched in her arms, she started her way back to the Inuzuka compounds.

"Tadaima!" Akira called out as she kicked off her sandals and entered the house.

"Oh, okaeri! Just leave it on the table!" Inuzuka Tsume shouted from upstairs, and the auburn-haired girl did so. As she finished setting the bags down on the table, she caught sight of a black creature lying peacefully underneath it.

"Hey, Kuromaru," Akira bent down slightly to scratch the huge black hound behind his ears. Her first encounter with the ninken hadn't been a pleasant one. She was eight then and had been invited to Kiba's house after school when she caught sight of something huge, black and furry in the corner. She had thought it was a furry bean bag at first and when Kiba went into the kitchen to fetch some drinks, she had taken the chance to pounce onto the black, seemingly comfortable lump.

Kuromaru, who was also the 'comfortable lump' in the corner was rudely awakened from his sleep by an immature eight-year-old girl tackling him from behind. And as he strongly despised being attacked from behind, especially from his blind spot, he retaliated violently, leaping onto all fours, knocking the girl off brusquely in the process, and proceeded to snarling, baring his enormous fangs down at the stunned girl.

As an eight-year-old, having a hound twice your size towering over you, malicious glint in its eyes (or in Kuromaru's case, eye), back arched and poised to attack, it was definitely a very traumatic experience for Akira and after recovering from her initial shock of what she thought was her beanbag coming to live, she started to yell, at the top of her lungs. She yelled, until a shattering sound could be heard in the kitchen and Kiba came rushing back into the living room, Akamaru the pup at his heels, panicked at what he thought was his friend in trouble. When he saw the dark canine bristling at Akira, he immediately shouted "Down, Kuromaru! Don't you dare touch her!" After which he sprinted to his friend's side and asked with concern in his voice, "What happened? Daijoubu?" By then, the girl had calmed down considerably and only stared at the beanbag dubbed 'Kuromaru', who had muttered _"Insolent brat"_, with wide green eyes.

When Inuzuka Tsume entered to investigate the cause of the ruckus, Kiba spun around, eyes narrowed, and shook his fists at her angrily. "What the hell, Ma!? Your damn dog almost attacked my friend!"

_Smack!_

A blinding pain and the Inuzuka boy stumbled to the ground with the sudden force as his mother struck him sharply across his left cheek, long nails leaving marks on him that, though shallow, still drew blood that trickled down his cheeks. Akira let out a gasp as Kiba wiped the crimson liquid from his cheek with the sleeve of his shirt, wincing at the pain.

"I'll teach you to cuss at your mother," Tsume growled back at her son. "Besides, Kuromaru wouldn't attack anyone...unless he was provoked first." At which she looked directly at Akira, who guiltily shifted her gaze away. "And was that the sound of breaking cups I heard? That's gonna be coming from your pocket money, boy. Go clean up the mess, now!"

Kiba let out a growl himself and leapt up to stomp into the kitchen. Akira tailed behind him, not wanting to be stuck in the same room as Kiba's mom and her dog that tried to attack her.

"Your mom's scary," Akira murmured as she stooped down to help her friend sweep up the ceramic shards. Kiba barked out a mirthless laugh.

"Mochiron, why do you think my dad left?"

Akira remained quiet. Kiba had been particularly sore towards the topic of dads after his father abandoned his family when he was only five. But he had made do, with his mom and veterinarian sister and despite his frequent clashes with his mom, Akira knew that he still treasured them a lot. She turned her attention instead to the angry bruise forming on Kiba's cheek and stretched out a hand to touch it. The boy let out a tiny yelp, more of surprise than anything and yelled, "Itai! Don't touch it, baka!" Akira quickly retracted her hand and mumbled a "Gomen".

"For just now, too." She added as an afterthought. Kiba squinted at her with his wolf-like eyes before turning away to sweep up the last few remains of the cups.

"Kekkou desu," he assured. "Kimi ga boku no tomodachi dakara."

It was that sentence, again. Akira smiled lightly at the memory. Kiba hadn't changed, from then till now. He had really stood with her, through thick and thin, and his presence had become a constant in her life. Sure, they didn't always get along well – Akira couldn't even bother to count the number of times they had fought with each other, both verbally and physically – but she could always count on him being there for her when she needed him. _As loyal as a dog_, she noted, as her lips curled into another bemused grin.

"Should it be of my concern that you're smiling strangely at me?" a growl from the black hound dirupted the girl's train of thoughts, as her eyes snapped into focus onto Kuromanaru, who was staring at her with a lazy eye.

"Iya, betsuni," she laughed lightly. "It's nothing. Tell Tsume-san I've gone home, would you?" Kuromaru only snorted, before resting his head back onto his paws.

_Because you're my friend._

His voice echoed in her mind, as she stepped outside, into the crisp autumn air. The sun shone down lazily at her, from a clear, azure sky, as she stretched her limbs. Silently, she promised herself that she would treat Kiba to lunch when he returned from his mission.

Because he was her friend, too.

* * *

**Here it is, finally! Really, really sorry about the long hiatus - tis the exam period. This chapter was made by piecing random ideas together. Still at a loss for the next one though (probably the final chapter, told you it was going to be short). I'm thinking of placing it after a time-skip, but I'm not sure whether that'll work well in such a short story? Hm.  
**

**But until then, thank you for the reading, following and reviewing! Feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated.**

**PS. Did you know that Bleach has its very own ****musical? With its own actors and all. Cool ttm, spent the whole of last month watching all of it. (As you can see, I was _very_ busy.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**『秋の日に』**

**第五章：****静粛な半宵**

_Hushed Midnights_

For the umpteenth time that night, Akira shifted under the covers of her bed, rolling to her side facing the wall. She had retired early for the night but had spent the past hour (or more, she couldn't tell) tossing and turning, trying but failing to fall asleep. She had tried all the various methods she knew – drinking warm milk, conjuring up peaceful images, counting sheep – but none had succeeded in making her feel even a tad sleepy. She wished Kiba were here. Kiba, would have found some way to make her fall asleep, or even if he didn't, he would have chatted with her into the depths of the night till she fell asleep. She recalled one time...

"_Ne, why don't we try counting Akamaru's fur, to make us fall asleep?"_

_Akira snorted at Kiba's ridiculous suggestion. "Are you mad? Do you know how many billions of gazillions hair there are on your dog? Muridayo, it's impossible." _

"_Ii ja," Kiba had replied easily. "We'll just count the brown ones." Akamaru, though covered in white all over, had brown patches on his ears and random strands of brown here and there, if one looked closely enough. Akira sighed in resignation._

"_This is stupid, but since we can't sleep..."_

_They had each took one of the puppy's ear in their hands and started counting the brown hairs strand by strand, much to the extreme comfort of Akamaru. In the end, even before Akira covered half of the ear, she had dozed off. Counting single hairs and squinting under the dim light had proven to be too much for her._

Yep, how she wished Kiba were here with her.

_Kiba._

The thought of her friend had triggered a new worry in the copperhead girl. But to say that it has been "triggered" would have been a lie. The worry had been there, gnawing at the back of her mind for the entire month, just that, in the darkness and emptiness of her room, it had surged forward to consume her mind again. Kiba, now part of the Anbu at age nineteen, had been gone on a mission for five months now, the longest he had ever been away on one yet. The last time she saw him was the day before his mission, where they had spent the entire day together. It was a tradition, more like, how right before a mission, Kiba would drop by the veterinarian where Akira was working if she wasn't out for her own missions and "borrow" her for a day from his sister. They would walk Akamaru through the forests, sometimes going as far as the Fire Country borders, before returning to the village and having dinner at Ichiraku.

"_What if this is my last ramen?"_ Kiba had always joked. Akira had brushed it off, unworried at the prospect of Kiba going on his dangerous missions, knowing he could take care of himself just fine.

She was getting worried now, though.

Akira shivered, burying deeper into her nest of blankets. The autumn air had been particularly chilly as of late, and despite the closed window, the Mitarashi girl could still feel the coldness seeping through the walls. She kind of wished autumn could rewind itself again, back to the crisp, still warm days, instead of this cold, freezing, end of autumn. _Come to think of it,_ she thought moodily, _this would be the first autumn that I didn't spend with Kiba ever since we met._

It was true. In the past eleven years, they had always enjoyed autumn together. It was Akira's favourite season out of the four. Not just because she was born then (hence her name) but because of the weather, the yellowing trees, and the fun that came with them. Spring had simply too many festivals, summer was too hot and dry, and winter was simply too cold for her liking. But autumn, autumn was perfect for her. It had always been hers and Kiba's special time of the year and most of their happy memories were created then. But unlike the previous year's, this year's autumn had been dull and uneventful for Akira. She didn't have her best friend to spend it with and with each passing day, her apprehension grew. She tried to bury her thoughts in her work and mission, but the days dragged by, each one more agonising and painful than the next.

Today was November thirtieth, the last day of autumn.

And Kiba still has not returned.

Letting out a small, unhappy sigh, Akira nuzzled her face against the pillow, shutting her eyes in an attempt to block out the worrying thoughts. _That mutt head had better not be dead. If he is, I will, I will..._Will what? What would she be able to do if her best friend had really died? Not even his body would have been left due to the curse mark that Anbu shinobis had that set the body to self-destruct upon death. Akira shuddered again, but she was sure it wasn't because of the cold this time.

Just then, there was a knock on the window.

Akira, still trying to rid her mind of the image of Kiba exploding into million pieces, jumped. She turned and rolled unceremoniously out of bed, raking a hand through her unkempt auburn hair. Who would be looking for her at this time? Could it be a messenger bird? But at night...

Upon pulling aside the curtains, she let out a gasp.

Inuzuka Kiba was outside her windows, bloodied, half-frozen and looking as if he was about to collapse any moment.

A small smile formed at the sight of Akira, though it was hard to make out from all the crimson tainting his face. "Kiba." Akira shot a hand out to open the window, cursing at the coldness of the glass against her bare skin. As the glass pane slid open, Kiba, finally losing what little consciousness he was hanging onto, gave way and fell through the window, onto the floor of her bedroom. Akira was over him in an instant, checking his pulse (faint, but still there), going over his body for wounds.

"Oh god, Kiba," she murmured, her throat choking up from fear, as she grabbed bandages from her bedside drawer, her veterinarian instinct kicking in. "You really are a baka, you know that? Kuso!" Tears welled up at the corner of her eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. Crying wouldn't help her now.

She set to work quickly, cleaning and dressing his wounds.

* * *

When Kiba came to, Akira was sitting on a chair by the bed, having reverted back to her old habit of biting her nails.

"You know I told you doing that would make your nails ugly," he said hoarsely, startling the auburn-haired girl.

"Like you should talk, with your nails being more like claws and all," she shot back, but her defensive tone instantaneously dropped as she leaned forward, passing him a glass of water, concern etched across her sharp features. "Daijoubu? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kiba replied, using his elbow to prop himself up against the pillow, as he accepted the drink gratefully. He took a sip, passed it back to her, then surveyed the bandages on his body. Akira had rid him of his shirt in order to reach the wounds on his chest and as he flexed, she noticed muscles that hadn't been there before. Not that she made it a point to look. "Neat job with the bandages, by the way."

Akira, however, was not to be humoured. "You should have gone home first, baka! Hana would have done a much better job than me in treating them. I'm still inexperienced compared to her."

"She's out, probably on another one of those visits to Sunagakure to obtain their medicinal herbs. And _okaa-san_ 's not in the village either. I didn't catch their scents," the boy, with brown hair now brushing his shoulders, replied flatly, as he repositioned himself such that he was sitting at the edge of the bed, facing Akira. "Besides," he added. "I could tell you were still awake."

Akira found herself chewing her bottom lip. It was undeniable that she had been unable to fall asleep, fretting over the absence of her friend, but if she had known that he would be in this state, she wouldn't have mind waiting a few more months for him to come back relatively wound-free.

Finally, in a croaky voice, she asked, "What happened?"

"Oh, you know, the usual run-in with enemy shinobis. They were a nasty bunch." Kiba grinned, though it now seemed slightly forced, inducing Akira to think that those shinobis he met were _not_ usual.

"Baka! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Did she really want to be scolding her friend right now? But all the vent-up worry and frustration from the past few weeks had morphed into anger and Akira couldn't stop.

"I could have," the Inuzuka boy mumbled, and a dark shadow flashed past his eyes, the grin dissipating from his face. He looked down, and then stilled

"Ah," he breathed out. "It reopened."

And Akira looked down too and to her horror, a scarlet flower was slowly blooming across the bandages on his chest. All the steam left her in that instance. "I can't treat this level of injuries!" she cried out in dismay. "I'm going to get someone." And just as she was about to turn to leave the room, a hand grabbed her wrist, dragging her back. Before Akira's mind could register surprise, Kiba had wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close to him, burying his face into the warmth of her stomach.

"No, stay. With me."

"Kiba..." It was all the auburn-haired girl could make out, her mind in shock from the sudden act of affection from her friend. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't normal, either. "You have to let me go, Kiba," she tried to reason. "Your wounds-"

"It's fine," Kiba cut her off, his voice sounding muffled. "As long as you are here with me, everything's alright." Akira felt herself stiffen at those words. _When had Kiba ever said things like this?_ She reached for his forehead and pressed her palm against it. The boy chuckled.

"I'm not feverish, if that's what you're thinking." And it was true. His temperature was just a bit higher than average, which was considered normal for an Inuzuka. "Just, let me stay like this...for a while."

Akira was taken aback by his sudden out-of-character behaviour. But he _was_ her friend after all. "O-Okay," she relented hesitantly, and felt Kiba relax against her.

"You smell..."

"Of maple and a hint of mint, I know," Akira finished the sentence for him, smiling lightly now. "You told me before."

"Have I ever told you how nice that smell like?" Kiba continued to murmur, sounding increasingly distant from Akira. There he went again. She remained silent for a while, not knowing how to respond. In the end, the only reply she could think of was,

"Well, you smell of dog." And then she suddenly froze, when a single realisation struck her. "Kiba, where's Akamaru?" She felt Kiba tensing up as well and heard him draw a sharp intake of breath. But he didn't reply, so she tried asking again, more gently this time,

"Akamaru wa doko-?"

Just then, the Inuzuka male let out a huge, dry sob. It was the most frightening sound that Akira had ever heard – the way the sob tore through his body, the desperation dripping in it – she was used to Kiba growling, Kiba snorting, Kiba snarling, but Kiba crying? The two words had never belonged in the same sentence before. Slowly, she tightened her grip on the boy, trying to offer as much reassurance as possible, just as he had done to her before. As if on cue, the floodgates were released and Kiba, her friend, the friend who never cried, was heaving with sobs of sorrow and loss.

"I killed him. Oh god, Akira, I fucking killed him. The attack was coming towards me and he took the blow for me at the last second. We didn't even have a chance to bid each other good-bye. He's gone, and it's all because of me...Oh, god..."

And Akira was stroking his hair comfortingly, her fingers brushing his shaggy brown tresses, at a loss for words. _What could she say, really?_ She allowed him to cry, till all his tears were exhausted and when he finally stopped, she cupped his cheeks with her hands, those cheeks with the same endearing red clan tattoo she had gotten so used to over the years, and brought it up to face hers. "It's not your fault, Kiba," she said firmly, looking dead into his wolf-like eyes, which, for the first time, were looking so vulnerable. "Say it. _It's not your fault."_

"It's not my fault," Kiba repeated, sounding a bit dazed. And then his face relaxed into his usual grin, though it still carried a hint of sadness, and he gently removed Akira's hands from his face, gazing out of the window.

"I'm pathetic," he mumbled to himself, but in the hush of the night Akira caught it word for word. "I couldn't protect my best friend, the only thing I know how to do is to hide and cry, I can't even..." and Akira saw Kiba's fists clenched on his lap. "...Confess to the girl that I love."

Akira's emerald orbs widened in shock at the boy's last sentence. _The girl that he loved? _As far as Akira knew, there was no such person. Though she's got to admit that her best friend was one of the better-looking males of Konoha, one that several girls would swoon over, Kiba had never been in a serious relationship before. He had gone out with Ino, with his teammate Hinata (that definitely didn't turn out well), and even managed to hook up with several non-shinobi girls he met during his missions. But each relationship just lasted shorter than the next and Akira had noted that none of the break-ups seemed particularly painful to the Inuzuka boy. In fact, he almost seemed kind of glad. "_For goodness sake, Kiba,"_ Akira finally complained one day after yet another girl had approached her to inquire about him, frustrated at her friend's almost player-like attitude. _"Just find someone and stop messing around already!"_ The dog boy had shot her a strange look then.

"_I can't do that," he replied unusually soft, brows furrowed._

"_Why not?" Akira shot back, exasperation laced in her voice._

"_Because", Kiba chewed out slowly, averting his gaze away from hers. "I'm still waiting...for the right person." Akira might have been imagining it but she thought her friend sounded...almost sad. In any case, her next sentence came out kinder._

"_Ja, I hope you find that person soon, then." Kiba snapped his head back to face hers at that sentence and a look of amusement flitted past his face._

"_What?" Akira demanded._

"_Betsu ni," he grinned easily, a hand reaching down to scratch behind Akamaru's ears, the other hand still tucked in his pocket. And then, suddenly, using the same hand, he reached up to flick Akira's forehead playfully._

"_Ba-ka." He sang out, still grinning from ear to ear._

"_Oi!" Akira swatted at him but the boy skillfully dodged and jumped away. "What was that for, mutt head! Oi!" The dog boy only laughed as he dashed quickly away from her, dog at his heels. _

Akira chewed on her bottom lip. Ever since that day, Kiba hadn't gone out even once. A part of her was relieved that he stopped but another part of her, a smaller part, still felt that something about Kiba was off, though she couldn't place her finger on what it was.

"Wh-Who?" she carefully asked. At the question, Kiba turned his head to stare out of the window, into the distance, his expression thoughtful. It was a while before he replied and when he did, it had nothing to do with her question.

"Autumn stars," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Hora. Aren't they pretty?"

"Eh?" Akira exclaimed at his random comment. Kiba was never one to appreciate nature unless it had anything to do with animals, so that sentence was entirely out of character. But she still looked out of the window anyway to see what he was referring to. The sky was of a navy blue, wisps of clouds drifting past, illuminated by the pearl-white moon. A few stars dotted the stars with silver, blinking merrily from above. To be honest, Akira didn't see what made them different from the usual night stars, but for Kiba's sake, she replied, "Ah, I guess?"

Kiba turned to face her and she caught the same strange look on him again. Akira wondered what was going on in his head. It had been ridiculously easy, when they were young, to predict the Inuzuka boy. He thoughts usually revolved around Akamaru, food, or soccer. But as they grew up, it had become increasingly difficult to see behind those wolf-like eyes of his. Their thoughts had become more complex and though their friendship hardly wavered, Akira still found herself surprised (and slightly scared) at the different person that was her best friend.

A moment of silence passed, before Kiba abruptly stood up, stretching his toned arms above his head, as if nothing had happened. "Ja, I should get going," he drawled out slowly, grabbing his uniform from the windowsill and slipping it on. "Arigatou na, Akira."

"What?!" Akira exclaimed as she stood up as well. "Yours wounds haven't fully healed yet! At least get some proper rest!"

"I _have_ had enough rest," he grinned that infuriating grin of his at her, all trace of his previous sorrow gone. "And I thought I'd better get it over and done with. At least we didn't miss this year's autumn, ne?" _So he noticed as well_. Akira thought, her gaze softening, as she started to wonder if there was another reason why Kiba came crashing through her windows hours before. A small bud of happiness started to bloom within her. But it immediately folded on itself as the Inuzuka shoved his face close to hers, grin still etched across his face.

"How about a kiss for good luck?"

"_Eh?!"_ Akira exclaimed once again, backing away from him. Something was seriously odd with Inuzuka Kiba today. She observed him carefully, waiting for him to laugh and then shout _"Uso! I lied!" _or even flick her forehead and call her a baka again but he did neither and the auburn-haired girl realised that he meant it, that he was still waiting for her.

"What's wrong with you, mutt head?" she grumbled, but, though still confused, Akira hesitantly cupped his chin with both hands and leaned up to place a light kiss on his left cheek. When she backed off, she thought she caught a hint of disappointment in the Inuzuka's wolf-like eyes, but it was gone quickly, and Kiba was once again grinning down at her. He lifted two fingers to his temple.

"Ja, na," he said, and a memory suddenly floated to the surface of Akira's consciousness.

"_Hey," Kiba called out, and Akira peeled her eyes away from the sight of Sakura sobbing to Naruto to face her best friend. It was shortly after their first Chuunin exams, and a group of young shinobis had been hastily assembled and dispatched to retrieve Sasuke from the clutches of Orochimaru. Kiba was one of them and Akira was at the gates, sending him and the others off. "Shouldn't you start weeping over me by now, too?"_

_Akira aimed a hard punch at him, and Kiba yelped, jumping back. "Is that how you treat people who you're saying goodbye to?!"_

_Akira glared sharply at him. "Don't say that- it's not goodbye yet." She continued as Kiba's sharp eyes widened in surprise. "I'm expecting to see you again, mutt head. So..." Kiba thought there was a slight tremble in her voice but he could have imagined it. "Don't die. Don't you dare die. All of you." Here she turned to each of them one by one, even Neji who she wasn't as familiar with yet. "Go and come back safely, ya hear?"_

_And then, on a whim, she raised two slender, gloved fingers to her temple. "Itterashai," she said firmly, emerald eyes staring steadily into his charcoal-black ones. The phrase was one that Tsume always said to Kiba when he left every morning for school or training, one of the rare display of affection she showed to her children, something both he and Hana treasured. It reminded him of home. The ends of his lips curled up into a grin._

_He raised two fingers to his temple as well. "Ja, na," he said, and with it, made a silent promise to his friend._

In the present, Akira, recovering from a wave of nostalgia, raised two fingers to her temple as well.

"Itterashai," she whispered quietly. And like before, she pleaded. "Don't die." Kiba flashed her one last, reassuring grin, and leapt out of the window. A blast of autumn-turned-winter wind, not too chilling but cold enough, found its way into the room, and Akira strode forward to close the window, taking the chance to gaze after the shadow disappearing in the distance. It looked abnormally lonely, without another, shorter, canine shadow beside it. Akira caught herself sighing as she retreated back to her bed, which still carried a faint scent of her friend.

She sank back under her covers, and unlike before, sleep now came easily to her, her eyelids weighing shut almost immediately when her head hit the pillows. _Kiba never answered my question, that mutt head. _And it was in this state of sub-consciousness that a realisation hit her with a pang, jolting her awake.

When Akira had asked Kiba who he loved, he had responded with a _"Aki ga hoshi_". She had took it to mean that he was referring to the stars, blatantly ignoring her question, but _what if, what if,_ and here Akira found her heartbeat speeding up, _he hadn't been?_ What if he was trying to say, instead, _"Aki ga hoshii_"? That would have an entirely different meaning altogether. _Aki_ meant autumn, but in that context, it could have been taken to be the short form of Akira's name, something some people usually called her by. And _hoshii_ referred to something that he wanted. Piecing it together, the message was clear.

_Kiba Inuzuka loved her._

"_I love you,"_ he had suddenly said, one autumn day a few years back, when they were hanging out as they often do, by the riverside. She had easily replied _"I love you, too" _back, failing to understand what he really meant by that statement.

_No, Kiba didn't love her._

_He was in love with her._

And just like that, everything fell in place. His strange looks directed at her, his weird dating habits, the lingering sadness carefully concealed in his eyes. It had been her, all along, only she was too blind to see it.

His voice echoed inside her head once again, different this time. _"Ba-ka," _it sang, mocking her, revealing to her how much pain the boy had endured all these years, hiding his feelings away from her. Sudden loneliness, sorrow, regret, welled up within her like vile smog, clawing its way up her throat, as she propped the upper half of her body on the bed and looked towards the window.

"_Kiba,"_ she gasped, but he was already gone.

* * *

**And...that's the end, guys! **

**BUT WAIT. There's going to be an epilogue so look out for that as well(:**

**In any case, I hoped this chapter had been written well. It's not easy writing about someone ****realizing another's love for them, I think. Sorry this took a while.**

**Also, as you might have noticed, I've uploaded a cover picture for the story. This is the colour I imagine Akira's hair to be - not entirely red and not entirely brown. My peach colour-pencil was so light - had to press down so hard while colouring, hence the creases in the paper T.T**

**Feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated!**


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